Lincoln Dreams of Death

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America had a dream in April 1865 (same month of his assassination) and he recounted this to his friends on the day he died:

"About ten days ago, I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. I saw light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this? Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers, 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin.' Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."

The Ghost of Pembrey Hills

They hide a secret



The Pembrey hills stretch deep into Burry Port territory and provide a beautiful background to the seaside town, which is sandwiched between the hills and a rugged, wild coastline that faces the Gower.

These hills have proved popular for many years, especially during the summer season when schoolchildren free from the classroom would roam the hills to build dens, rope swings and use cardboard sheets to slide down the steeper areas, abandoning all thought for personal safety.

They were a fabulous place for picnics too owing to spectacular views of the coast. If you ever happen to find yourself in Burry Port, drive up to the 'Lookout' on the narrow lane from Isgraig and you will see exactly what I mean. Stunning!

But there is a darker story linked to the Pembrey hills.

Will Mani lived in Pinged and was a very cruel man with a foul reputatation. He beat his wife regularly, whether drunk or not and of friends he had few because people wisely chose to stay away from him. He would hide in the hedgerows on the hills and rob travelers who were going to Carmarthen on buisness. Mani was a brutal thug and seemingly proud of it.

In 1788 he added murder to his bumper list of crimes, after he killed a woman who was out walking on the hillsides. There was never any doubt of guilt. The cuff from his coat was found in his victim's hand and was identified by the tailor who made it. Will Mani's fate was sealed and he was hanged then gibbeted on the hill at Pensarn in Carmarthen.

It is said that his ghost still haunts those hills in Pembrey.

Ghosts of Carew Castle

In the 17th century Carew castle's lord, Sir Roland Rees, a former pirate catptain, kept a Barbary Ape, inside the castle. Rees had acquired the creature on one of his many voyages. Rees was a very ill-tempered and mannered individual, and would host banquets at the castle just to shout insults and laugh at his guests. The ape, whom he named Satan, would mimick him and laugh at the guests too.
One stormy night, when there was strong wind and rain, the ape grew restless while Rees drank heavily in the dinning hall. There was a knock at the door and a Flemish tradesman appeared to deliver his rent, but had only half the money needed. Rees was already upset at the man because he did not approve of his son's relationship with the man's daughter. In a drunken rage, Rees loosened the ape’s chains and goaded it to maul the tradesman close to death. The tradesman escaped but, weak through loss of blood and struggling to make his way out, collapsed in semi-consciousness.
The tradesman was rescued by a benevolent servant who tended to his wounds and hid him away in his quarters, intending to let him go when the violent storm past. As the two men talked a violent cry and mad laughter was heard coming from the dinning hall. They rushed to the scene to find Sir Rees dead on the floor, his throat gashed open, and the ape burning in the fireplace. The ghosts of the ape and its master are said to haunt the castle to this day. Footsteps are reported reguarly, objects throw themselves, and the mad cackling laughter of an ape echoes through the halls.

The Shape Shifter

As mythological and weird beings go, the Popobawa is of fairly recent origin. It is believed to have first shown its nightmarish mug on the Tanzanian island of Pemba which sparked hysteria and panic which ran from Pemba right over to Unguja (main island of the Zanzibar archipelago), and way across to Dar es Salaam and other parts of the East African coast.
The name Popobawa or Popo Bawa is derived from a Swahili name which translates as 'bat-wing'. This name is supposed to have come from a description of the dark shadow made by the spirit and does not to its actual form because as a shapeshifter, its looks are prone to change often. It is said the creature is able to take either human or animal form.

A Popobawa

The Popobawa visits homes during the night (but has been spotted in the day) and some claim it has a strong smelling pungent whiff about it. They are not choosy who they attack, men, women and children have all been victims, and sometimes it preys on the entire household before moving on. These attacks can be a physical assault or it can behave in the same way as poltergeists. The Popobawa is also feared for its sexual assaults and the sodomising of both men and women have been reported. These poor victims are often forced to tell others of their assault, for if they do not they are threatened with more visits.
One of the victims of the attacks in 1995, has related his ordeal to the media. He said; "I could feel it, something pressing on me. I couldn’t imagine what sort of thing was happening to me. You feel as if you are screaming with no voice. It was just like a dream but then I was thinking it was this Popobawa and he had come to do something terrible to me, something sexual. It is worse than what he does to women." Hamad claimed that he did not believe in the Popobawa or other spirits before the attack and suggests that is the reason he was attacked. "I don’t believe in spirits so maybe that’s why it attacked me. Maybe it will attack anybody who doesn’t believe."
The Popobawa apparently becomes extremely angry if its existence is doubted or denied. It 'spoke' to the villagers on Pemba in 1971 through a girl possessed by the vicious creature.
An investigator found in 2007 that the story has its roots in Islam, and according to findings, “holding or reciting the Koran is said to keep the Popobawa at bay, much as the Bible is said to dispel Christian demons."
Naturally there are the skeptics and these claim that these attacks are a result of a hypnogogic hallucination during a 'waking dream'. As for myself I try not to discount anything in this world for like the Bard said, 'there are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' Especially when it meant a stiff boogering. Ouch!